Too Zune to pass judgment: a review of the Zune Marketplace

When Microsoft announced that its flagship digital media player had posted a …

Digital distribution, the Microsoft way

I hate to start what will be a mostly positive section off on the wrong foot, but I need to get the obligatory complaint about Microsoft's continued, ridiculous approach to digital distribution out of the way: Microsoft Points. I don't own an Xbox so I've never encountered these things before, but boy is this concept obnoxious. For the uninitiated: Instead of buying songs for 99¢ or anything else in typical denominations, Microsoft uses a points system and requires customers to purchase bundles, starting at 400 points for $5.

To keep things interesting, songs are priced at 79 points and music videos at 160 points. Individual TV show episodes are also 160 points, with a full season of, say, The Chappelle Show, going for 1920 points. For those keeping count at home, 79 points turns out to be 99¢, 160 = $2.00, and that Chappelle season will cost you $24. I think it's safe to say that Microsoft points are universally reviled, but they're a fact of life with Microsoft's consumer electronics platforms, and you just gotta grin and bear it. Fortunately, points are easy to obtain at checkout and via other methods, such as gift cards. However, the annoyance of knowing that my unspent points money is sitting in Microsoft's bank account, and not mine, never quite dissipated over the course of writing this piece. I am sure that, with a little more time, I can ge over it like the rest of Microsoft's customers.

Now that we got the "points thing" out of the way, let's talk about this refreshing Zune Marketplace.

One of the most interesting usability perks of the Zune Marketplace is that it pretty faithfully maintains the navigation system I described before. Microsoft did a wonderful job of melding the Marketplace's navigation system with the that of the collection, right down to using much of the same second- and third-tier navigation wherever possible. Visiting a store has never been so effortless and familiar.

When stepping into Microsoft's marketplace, a swift fade removes the collection and presents the music store front (by default), which employs a rotating banner image front and center of the week's most noteworthy new releases, followed by thumbnails other new albums and lists of the week's top songs, albums, and videos. A master list on the left of each store section provides an easy browsing springboard via genres for music, networks for videos (which are really just TV shows, at least for now), genres for podcasts, and categories for channels (hang on for just another minute). The store's design is tight and intuitive, but more than in any other store that I have used, shopping in the Zune Marketplace feels like an experience. Let me explain.

Beyond the appreciated, subtle animations that usher UI elements on and off screen, Microsoft uses the Zune's interface to its fullest, and the effect really shines. When browsing to the landing pages of most musicians and TV shows, the entire Zune window becomes a showcase. Posed photos of Photoshopped artists and larger-than-life characters take over the right side of the window while descriptions and thumbnails sit opposite. Yes, it's just shopping for intangible entertainment, but coming from the boxed-in, cold webpages of the iTunes Store, this aspect of the Zune Marketplace is engaging and fun.

These immersive landing pages can sometimes falter, however, given the "boxes without borders" layout employed in the Marketplace. If a show's description gets too long and a Zune window isn't tall enough, a floating scrollbar can sometimes break the aesthetic.